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North Nyewere'
<-Back to Conlangs =North Nyewere' languages= The North branch of the Nyewere' languages has the following distinctive characteristics: *shortening of long vowels. *loss of "paucal" number, only singular and plural remaining. *change from prefixes to suffixes in secondary cases =Phonology= Consonants North Nyewere' keeps Proto-Nyewere' 52 consonants, including affricates (ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ) and co-articulated (k͡p, ɡ͡b). Vowels Vowels in Proto-Nyewere' are as follows: Syllables Syllable structure for Proto-Nyewere' is ©V©. Generally, no more than two consonants can come together. Stress Words are generally stressed on the next-to-last (penultimate) syllable. In most languages of the family, however, stress is not distinctive for meaning, so it can vary considerably and even be not fixed at all. The practice for Proto-Nyewere' is to stress all words on the next-to-last syllable. Tone The use of tone in individual syllables is present in most languages of the family. Although no pattern could be traced to the ancestor language, it is supposed that it used tone as well. Intonation The Nyewere' languages have a characteristic intonation, by which most sentences sound like what is a question in other languages. The exact intonation curve varies from one language to the other, but it always follows an "inquisitive" contour. There is no indication of what the intonation in Proto-Nyewere' was, but, as it is a characteristic present in all the languages of the family, the ancestor language is supposed to have had it as well. =Morphology= Nouns Nouns are divided in classes, according to the nature of what is being nominated. There is a lot of derivation done by simply changing the class of a word. There is a tripartite number system, with a singular, a "paucal" plural (for numbers up to ten) and a "real" plural (for numbers above ten). There are ten grammatical cases, some of them expressed by prefixes and others by suffixes. Classes The noun classes are the following: *1 - human beings (man, child, woman, teacher &c.) *2 - nature elements (wind, rain, river &c.); places *3 - animals *4 - objects, tools (hammer, shoe, weapon &c.) *5 - liquids (water, blood, milk &c.) *6 - inanimate objects (stone, wood, ice &c.) *7 - abstract (love, idea, friendship, fear &c.) *8 - actions (war, performance, show &c.) *9 - features (color, size, goodness, attitude &c.) *10 - miscellaneous (mostly used for more modern nouns such as "computer program", "interplanetary voyage", "cloning" &c.) These classes are denoted in nouns and adjectives by means of suffixes. In the following table, the prefixes are indicated in the order singular, paucal, plural: *Class 1: -da, -ma *Class 2: -di, -k͡pi *Class 3: -ʡi, -ʡiŋ *Class 4: -jik, -ʜap *Class 5: -la, -ta *Class 6: -man, -tʃan *Class 7: -kwi, -ʡik *Class 8: -kwa, -ü *Class 9: -wa, -lak *Class 10: -e, -eŋ Examples: *'ʐijuda' "man", ʐijuma "men" *'tojphedi' "wind", tojphek͡pi "winds" *'tʃombeʡi' "bird", tʃombeʡiŋ "birds" *'ŋambwatjik' "hammer", ŋambwatʜap "hammers" *'dreodla' "a drop", dreodta "drops" *'ekɭapman' "stone", ekɭaptʃan "stones" *'ʐuʈakwi' "idea", ʐuʈaʡik "ideas" *'tabɖutkaɖkwa' "war", tabɖutkaɖü "wars" *'k͡peʃaɲewa' "colour", k͡peʃaɲelak "colours" *'mobwuðae' "computer program", mobwuðaeŋ "computer programs" Case There are six main cases, marked with suffixes, and four secondary cases, marked with prefixes: *Topic (suff.) *Nominative (suff.) *Accusative (suff.) *Genitive (suff.) *Dative (suff.) *Locative (suff.) *Instrumental (pref.) *Commitative (pref.) *Ablative (pref.) *Abortive (pref.) There is a Vocative case, which is marked by the absence of case markers. There are two series of suffixes, one for animate and one for inanimate nouns. Examples: *'ʐijuda!' "(oh) man!" (vocative) *'ʐijudaŋo' "(a/the) man" (topic) *'ʐijudanda' "(a/the) man" (subject) *'ʐijudaend' "(a/the) man" (direct object) *'ʐijudaʒo' "of (a/the) man" *'ʐijudali' "(a/the) man" (indirect object) *'ʐijudambi' "in/on (a/the) man" *'ʐijudaku' "by means of (a/the) man" *'ʐijudaem' "together with (a/the) man" *'ʐijudaze' "from/by (a/the) man" *'ʐijudaro' "without (a/the) man" *'ʐijuma!' "(oh) men!" (vocative) *'ʐijumaŋo' "(the) men" (topic) *'ʐijumanda' "(the) men" (subject) *'ʐijumaend' "(the) men" (direct object) *'ʐijumaʒo' "of (the) men" *'ʐijumali' "(the) men" (indirect object) *'ʐijumambi' "in/on (the) men" *'ʐijumaku' "by means of (the) men" *'ʐijumaem' "together with (the) men" *'ʐijumaze' "from/by (the) men" *'ʐijumaro' "without (the) men" *'βaʈajikpu' "(a/the) knife" (topic) *'βaʈajikndi' "(a/the) knife" (subject) *'βaʈajikghu' "(a/the) knife" (direct object) *'βaʈajiket' "of (a/the) knife" *'βaʈajikla' "(a/the) knife" (indirect object) *'βaʈajikmba' "in/on (a/the) knife" *'βaʈajikku' "by means of (a/the) knife" *'βaʈajikem' "together with (a/the) knife" *'βaʈajikze' "from/by (a/the) knife" *'βaʈajikro' "without (a/the) knife" *'βaʈaʜappu' "(the) knives" (topic) *'βaʈaʜapndi' "(the) knives" (subject) *'βaʈaʜapghu' "(the) knives" (direct object) *'βaʈaʜapet' "of (the) knives" *'βaʈaʜapla' "(the) knives" (indirect object) *'βaʈaʜapmba' "in/on (the) knives" *'βaʈaʜapku' "by means of (the) knives" *'βaʈaʜapem' "together with (the) knives" *'βaʈaʜapze' "from/by (the) knives" *'βaʈaʜapro' "without (the) knives" Derivation The change of a noun from one class to other is largely used as a means of derivation. E.g.: *'tiɭakwi' "teaching" (class 7) **'tiɭajik' "book", "textbook", "schoolbook" (class 4) **'tiɭada' "teacher" (class 1) **'tiɭakwa' "lesson", "lecture" (class 8) **'tiɭadi' "school" (class 2) There may even be secondary derivation with more than one suffix. E.g.: *'tiɭajik' "book", "textbook", "schoolbook" (class 4) **'tiɭajikda' "writer" (class 1) **'tiɭajikdi' "book store", "library" (class 2) ***'tiɭajikdida' "book seller", "book dealer", "librarian" (class 1) Adjectives Adjectives come before nouns and receive the same class suffix as the noun: *'tiʃiguda ʐijuda' "a tall man", tiʃigunda ʐijunda "(a few) tall men", tiʃiguma ʐijuma "(many) tall men" Adjectives do not receive case suffixes. E.g.: *'ɟujik βaʈajikpu' "(a/the) sharp knife" (topic) *'ɟujik βaʈajikndi' "(a/the) sharp knife" (subject) *'ɟujik βaʈajikghu' "(a/the) sharp knife" (direct object) *'ɟujik βaʈajiket' "of (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟujik βaʈajikla' "(a/the) sharp knife" (indirect object) *'ɟujik βaʈajikmba' "in/on (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟujik βaʈajikku' "by means of (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟujik βaʈajikem' "together with (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟujik βaʈajikze' "from/by (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟujik βaʈajikro' "without (a/the) sharp knife" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜappu' "(the) sharp knives" (topic) *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapndi' "(the) sharp knives" (subject) *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapghu' "(the) sharp knives" (direct object) *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapet' "of (the) sharp knives" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapla' "(the) sharp knives" (indirect object) *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapmba' "in/on (the) sharp knives" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapku' "by means of (the) sharp knives" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapem' "together with (the) sharp knives" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapze' "from/by (the) sharp knives" *'ɟuʜap βaʈaʜapro' "without (the) sharp knives" Comparison In Proto-Nyewere´ there was no standard way to compare adjectives. Several constructions were used for this purpose. *"X near Y": mutʃu toɭudaŋo ɟuʈapada drughi bajoda "This boy (is) old near that (one)" -> "This boy is older than that one." *"Y does not compare to Y": mutʃu toɭudaŋo ɟuʈapada, abruʒ grosa k͡peʝidze bajodali "This boy (is) old, but does't compare to that (one)" -> "This boy is older than that one." Pronouns Personal Personal pronouns never receive class suffixes. *'kasu', kanza "I" *'babha', butʃe, baos "thou", "you" (sing.) *'lueja' "he", "she", "it" *'yuŋa', tʃoru "we" *'bhoʃi', neru "you" (pl.) *'bukwa' "they" Possessive *'kanʒo' "my" *'babʒo', buʒo "thy", "your" (sing.) *'luʒo' "his", "her", "its" *'junʒo' "our" *'bhoʒo', neʒo "your" (pl.) *'bukʒo' "their" Demonstrative *'mutʃu' "this" (near) *'bajo' "that" (far) Demonstrative pronouns are not declined, except if used with the function of a noun. E.g.: *'Mutʃu bijajikpu jüphatajik. Bajojikpu ndurejik.' "This book is old. That (one) is new." Interrogative Relative Indefinite Numbers Cardinal *0: dreɕa *1: ɮabu *2: tʃeb *3: taɭawo *4: tovigü *5: tʃijopo; taʃu *6: ŋiɡob̪u *7: bhiboɬe *8: bhavöɸu; tavö *9: ʜojgruɟ *10: musapi *11: jakwamukwe *12: mumbömukwe *13: muthumukwe *14: xerumukwe *15: tagumukwe *16: kwagrumukwe *17: figromukwe *18: mbotʃemukwe *19: ʒasumukwe *20: ethfaʒ *21: ethfaʒ bha ɮa *30: maŋmuthupa *40: maŋxeruge *50: maŋtaguŋa *60: maŋkwagrure *70: maŋfigrole *80: maŋmbotʃeʒu *90: maŋʒasula *100: lutsendu *200: mumbölutsendu *1,000: tughaca; ʃüŋöʜe *1,234: tughaca mumbölutsendu maŋmuthupa tovigü Verbs Verbs in Proto-Nyewere´ were extremely simple. There are no inflections or conjugations. Tenses, moods and so were indicated by means of auxiliary words. E.g.: *'Kasuŋo ''sobɖuŋ adbub̪ zetughadi zesobodi''' "I live here whole life" -> "I have lived here my whole life." *'Kasunda ''tʃasapa tumba tuʈi''' "I want go there" -> "I want to go there" *'Kasunda ''tʃasapa babhaend tumba tuʈi''' "I want thee go there" -> "I want you to go there" *'Lueja grosa ''tʃasapa ɟaɕoɸ babhali''' "He not want talk to-thee" -> "He does not want to talk to you." Modifiers These are place immediately before the verb or at the end of the sentence. Modals *'tʃasapa' "want" *'ghuʃo', asfönd "must" *'ghotʃe' "may" *'rasa' "can" *'kwuda' "should" *'ghafö' "might" *'gripha' "be supposed to" *'dhawu', mbakya "like" *'tʃoʃa', bheri "would like" Time *'rethi' (present continuous) *'ɸapho' (past) *'xeŋa' (future) *'liʃa' "just" (very recent past) *'kwode' "soon" Aspect *'grufa' "start to" (inceptive) *'ʃüra' "always" (durative) *'mbekwiʃ' "ever" *'mitho', mutsu "again and again" (repetitive) Mood *'bheri' (conditional) *'tʃuthuj' (subjunctive) *'nde' (imperative; generally omitted) *'ewen' (indirect discourse) =Syntax= Nominal Sentences The copula tsha may be used to link a nominal predicate (adjective or noun) to a subject in the nominative or topic. However, if the topic case is used, the copula is generally left out. Predicative adjectives agree in class and number with the noun. Predicative nouns agree in number with the subject or topic. Personal pronouns do not receive class suffixes. Examples: *'Kasuŋo tiɭada.' "ITOPIC teacher" -> "I am a teacher." *'Juŋaŋo tiɭama.' "WeTOPIC teachers" -> "We are teachers." *'Kasuŋo boŋoda.' "ITOPIC tired" -> "I am tired." *'Juŋaŋo boŋonda.' "WeTOPIC tired" -> "We are tired." *'Mutʃu tiɭajikpu tʃibjik.' "This bookTOPIC good" -> "This book is good." With the copula: *'Kasunda tʃa tiɭada.' "ISUBJECT COPULA teacher" -> "I am a teacher." *'Juŋanda tʃa tiɭama.' "WeSUBJECT COPULA teachers" -> "We are teachers." *'Kasunda tʃa boŋoda.' "ISUBJECT COPULA tired" -> "I am tired." *'Juŋanda tʃa boŋonda.' "WeSUBJECT COPULA tired" -> "We are tired." *'Mutʃu bijajikndi tʃa tʃibjik.' "This bookSUBJECT COPULA good" -> "This book is good." Adverbial expressions can also be used as a predicate: *'Kasuŋo adbub̪.' "ITOPIC here" -> "I am here." *'Kasunda tʃa adbub̪.' "ISUBJECT COPULA here" -> "I am here." *'Bukwaŋo ŋovudimba.' "TheyTOPIC houseLOCATIVE" -> "They are at home", "They are in the house." Attributive x Predicative Adjectives Attributive adjectives come before the noun and agree in class, number and partially in case (se above). Predicative adjectives come after the subject/topic and agree in class and number with it. Compare: *'Mutʃu bijajikpu tʃibjik.' "This bookTOPIC good" -> "This book is good." *'Mutʃu tʃibjik bijajikpu...' "This good bookTOPIC..." -> "This good book (is)..." Verbal Sentences Word order is SVO, that is, subject first, then the verb, then any complements (objects). Direct object comes before indirect object. Adverbial expressions come at the end of the sentence. Verbal modifiers generally come before the verb, but many of them are considered adverbs and come at the end of the sentence. Examples: *'Kasunda tʃasapa haguka mutʃu xeklekpighu luejali mophakwa' "I want give this flowersOBJECT sheDATIVE today" -> "I want to give her these flowers today." *'Luejanda fimba mutshukwighu kasuli reŋokli.' "HeSUBJECT say thisOBJECT IDATIVE already" -> "He has already told me that." =Samples= *'Resoma ʒuthumaŋo gruphahokwaze tekwuma ramo dhaʃatema, graferakwize ramo motʃeʒesʡikze. Bukwaŋo mbamatʃibma mijaɸakwiku ramo dhetsakwiku, bukwaŋo kwuda ʃeŋam jiwondemali fötʃirakwiku gredagtokwiet.' **"All humans from.birth free and equal, in.dignity and in.rights. They endowed with.reason and with.conscience, they should act towards.others in.spirit of.brotherhood." *** -> "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."